This is a lush, thriving coral reef near Ilot Mbe Kouen, just inside of New Caledonia's Great Barrier reef. It is a super dense thicket of coral branches, mostly formed by several species of the genus Acropora.

At low tide, the tips of the coral branches come out of the water. We waited until mid-tide to explore it. We carefully swam over the thickets, sometimes just belly deep, and I was delighted to find little pockets here and there where the water was deeper and often filled with other species of corals.

It was, probably, the other species of corals that kept the Acropora from filling in those areas, too. Corals do fight for their territory, but it is a very slow battle and one you would not be likely to witness unless you went swimming here at night with a powerful magnifying lens.

I tried very hard to capture the feeling of discovery and delight these scintillating tide-pools of coral gave me. The only thing I can compare the feeling to was the laughing childhood wonder of looking into a sugar Easter Egg and seeing a small scene of springtime inside. I took sphere images of many of these coral Easter Eggs from different angles, from the edge of the thickets and the center of the pools, but could not quite capture what I felt. This one came closest and I hope you can see the delight and beauty as I did.

If you really want to experience this delight as I did, come see it yourself. Download a copy of the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia or the Rocket Travel Guide to New Caledonia to find out just how to do it.